Flagship free school that cost £35m closes due to lack of pupils
Government funded Parkfield, in Dorset, after ‘unbelievable’ lack of due diligence, says expert
September 2023
UK government did not carry out detailed surveys before it bought free schools sites
Freedom of information requests show such was haste to open new schools unsuitable buildings were purchased without checks for asbestos or concrete
Price of fixing school concrete crisis in England ‘approaching £150m’
Exclusive: analysis suggests bill could rise much further, with major rebuilding programme possible instead of temporary fixes
More English schools could close due to crumbling concrete, minister warns
Nick Gibb says buildings continue to be surveyed for risk of collapse after over 100 were told to shut
August 2023
Crumble-risk concrete is latest upheaval to hit England’s schools
‘Staggering incompetence’: DfE under fire as new school buildings closed
June 2023
Pupils in England sent to churches and village halls as crumbling schools close
Unsafe buildings force thousands of children into temporary spaces or remote learning
January 2023
‘Tell us which schools could collapse’: Labour will force ministers to reveal data
Teachers and parents voice fury over risk to life in England’s crumbling classrooms as DfE keeps survey details from public scrutiny
May 2022
England’s crumbling schools are a ‘risk to life’, officials warn No 10
Headteachers fight for funds to shore up England’s dilapidated classrooms
May 2021
England’s £11bn school repair bill goes back to Michael Gove cuts
Analysis: bill is a result of austerity cuts and decisions made by the coalition education secretary
September 2020
Sir, can I go and play in the mud kitchen? The fun-filled school with luxury flats attached
Pupils at this new primary will be able to bounce on the playground and grow food on the roof. Shame their teachers won’t be able to afford the high-end homes that funded it
June 2020
Johnson pledges £1bn school rebuilding programme for England
Infrastructure projects will help revive economy after Covid-19 crisis, PM will say
February 2020
Renewables barely feature in building programme for 500 schools
Solar panels, heat pumps and sustainable designs bypassed – but now one Somerset school is taking a stand
March 2018
Ministers won’t give schools more money until they are visibly falling apart
Laura McInerney
Comments by ex-chancellor George Osborne will alarm headteachers hoping for help from his successor
April 2017
Datablog
A third of schools in England are underfunded by more than £1m
A new report shows that while money has been found to build 500 new free schools, thousands of existing schools do not have enough funds to keep their buildings in a ‘satisfactory’ condition
February 2017
Government spending billions on free schools while existing schools crumble
National Audit Office says £6.7bn is needed to bring current school buildings up to standard while ministers have pledged to build 500 free schools by 2020
May 2016
Poorly designed schools affecting pupils' performance, says RIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects finds ‘dangerous and dilapidated’ buildings are causing children to underperform and teachers to quit
November 2015
Bauhaus and moral purpose: the very model of modern community schools
The village colleges of Cambridgeshire, pioneering as comprehensives in the 1930s, are still setting an example in 2015
May 2015
Schools are facing an asbestos timebomb
Three-quarters of schools have asbestos in their buildings. But some are unable to get rid of it because of disputes about who foots the bill
